Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Associate Head Women's Coach
- Email:
- jcwlker2@memphis.edu
- Phone:
- 901-678-5732
Memphis native and longtime professional goalkeeper Jonny Walker joined Coach Brooks Monaghan’s staff in 2009 and has helped take the program to new heights. Walker brought with him more than a decade of record-setting professional experience, including becoming the first American soccer player to establish a successful professional career in South America (Chile) and completing two different stints in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Following the 2018 season, Walker was promoted as the program’s associate head coach in January 2019. Since Walker’s first season on the coaching staff in 2009, Memphis has recorded 185 wins, and he has helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament nine times in his 14 seasons.
Walker has consistently groomed success in goalkeepers, as each of his first five years on staff coincided with record-setting performances. In 2009, a trio of keepers combined for a then-record 12 shutouts. The following season in 2010, the squad posted a second-straight, sub-1.00 goals-against average, the first time that occurred in consecutive seasons in the program’s history.
The trend continued in 2011 as Elise Kuhar-Pitters posted season records for shutouts (15) and goals-against average (0.46). Under Walker’s guidance, Kuhar-Pitters was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America Second-Team selection, becoming the first keeper in Tigers history to earn All-America honors.
The 2012 and 2013 seasons saw Walker insert a freshman in goal as a starter, with each setting program records for freshmen netminders. One of those freshman goalkeepers, Maryse Bard-Martel went on to start every match of her four-year career (2013-16) and finish with the most minutes ever played by a Tiger goalkeeper, 7,259. Bard-Martel also finished her career second in victories (44), saves (267) and shutouts (25), as well as third in goals-against average (1.15).
The 2017 season also saw a freshman in the net for a solid part of the year. Elizabeth Moberg took over as keeper, allowing just eight goals and recording four shutouts on a 4-2-2 record. She was named to the AAC All-Rookie Team.
His keepers saw continued success in 2018, as Moberg improved in her second season. The sophomore set a single-season record for wins by her class, en route to a 17-4 record and 13 shutouts. Moberg capped the season with Second Team All-AAC honors.
Walker coached another impressive unit in 2019, as Memphis goalkeepers posted a 0.57 goals-against average, which ranks second in single-season history. The 2019 keeper unit also combined for 12 shutouts in the team's 17 wins and allowed the fewest amount of goals in program history (12).
Memphis saw the lowest goals-against average in the program's history in 2021 with a combined 0.51 GAA between Elizabeth Moberg and Claire Wyville. Moberg, who went on to win the American Athletic Conference's Most Outstanding Defensive Player award, finished the season with just 11 goals allowed in 21 appearances, a 0.49 personal GAA and clocked all 14 wins while notching 10 solo shutouts.
Walker and the rest of the Memphis Soccer staff were named as the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Staff of the Year in 2022 following their historic postseason run and again in 2023 with a repeat run to the NCAA Sweet 16.
In addition to his work with the goalkeepers, Walker has a large impact on the entire defensive unit. Since 2009 the Tigers have had 24 defenders recognized on all-conference teams.
As a professional, Walker was a member of Universidad Catolica’s championship team in Chile’s first division in 2002, and he also played in multiple Copa Libertadores tournaments. He finished his South American career with Colo Colo, the only Chilean club to ever win Copa Libertadores.
Walker’s final professional stop was with the MLS’s Columbus Crew, where he won the team’s 2005 Defensive Player of the Year Award after finishing second in MLS with a 1.12 goals-against average. From 2003-05, Walker played with MLS’s NY/NJ MetroStars, and in 2003, he became the third goalkeeper in MLS history to finish a season with a sub-1.00 goals-against average (league best 0.95 mark). In 2004, Walker started and played three matches for the U.S. National Team, including a 1-0 shutout victory over Mexico.
Walker graduated from Louisville in 2007. He and his wife, Shauna, have two sons, Seth and Adam.
